The Gritti Palace is a luxury hotel overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice. It is a building in the Venetian Gothic style which was built in 1478 as the home of the aristocratic Pisani family. Later, it became the residence of Andrea Gritti, who was Doge of Venice between 1523 and 1538.

After an extended period as a private residence, the Gritti Palace started to take paying guests in the 19th century, and became an independent hotel in 1948. The hotel, which has recently been extensively refurbished, has had many celebrated guests including Ernest Hemingway and W. Somerset Maugham.

Although Gerald meant to say Carpaccios here, he has accurately named another celebrated Italian painter.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) was an Italian artist who worked in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily. He painted many portraits, religious subjects, and secular subjects, and is seen as one of the orginators of the Baroque style in painting. He is particularly renowned for his dramatic use of chiaroscuro (strong contrast between light and dark).

'Arrival of the English Ambassadors' (1495-1500, 1st of the St Ursual group) - Credit: Vittore Carpaccio

Vittore Carpaccio (c.1465-1525) was an Italian painter of the Venetian School who studied under Gentile Bellini. Amongst his best-known works are nine related paintings known as The Legend of St Ursula, two examples of which are shown left and below. Note that the original of the painting on the left has a section missing.

The Spartacus International Gay Guide has been published annually since 1970. It is arranged alphabetically according to country, and provides information about entertainment venues, support services, and so on, which is of relevance to gay travellers.

The guide is published in English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian. A German and English app for iPhone has also recently been released.

Historically, Spartacus (c.109-71BC) was the name of a Thracian gladiator who led a slave uprising against the Roman Republic.

The cathedral dedicated to St Front (Cathédrale Saint-Front de Périgueux) is in the commune of Périgueux in the Dordogne department of southwestern France. It was built in the 12th century, and restored in the 19th century.

St Front has been the cathedral of Périgueux since 1669. Prior to that, another church, dedicated to St. Stephen, was the cathedral; it was known as Cathédrale Saint-Étienne-de-la-Cité de Périgueux.

Boules is the name given to a number of games in which the objective is to throw, or roll balls as close as possible to a target-ball.

In the South of France, boules is another name for the game pétanque. In pétanque, participants stand inside a starting circle and throw hollow metal balls as close as possible for a small wooden ball known as a cochonnet.

It is is an extremely popular game in France, especially amongst people who are on their summer holidays. The playing area is usually hard-packed dirt or gravel, but boules may also be played on sand or grass.

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" Rachel said surely that would all change now they'd got rid of Red Ken "

Salome (c.14AD-62-71) was the daughter of the Jewish princess Herodias. She is mentioned (although not referred to by the name Salome) in the New Testament, where she is depicted as a seductress who is partly responsible for the death of John the Baptist.

Richard Strauss wrote a one-act opera called Salome which was first performed in 1905. It was based on Oscar Wilde's play Salomé, and contains the 'Dance of the Seven Veils', which was considered shocking when the opera was first performed. There is a also a notorious final scene in which Salome kisses the severed head of John the Baptist.

Périgord in southwestern France is one of the country's former provinces. Its area corresponded roughly to that of the present-day Dordogne department.

Although Périgord is no longer an administrative region, it is stilll used for descriptive purposes in the Dordogne area. Specifically, different parts of the area have been given the names Périgord Vert (Green Périgord), Périgord Blanc (White Périgord), Périgord Pourpre (Purple Périgord), and Périgord Noir (Black Périgord).

Périgord Vert in the north is so named because of the lush greenness of it valleys and wooded slopes.

Périgord Blanc, the central area around Perigueux, takes its name from the white limestone which is a feature of the landscape.

Périgord Pourpre's name reflects the fact that the southwest of the Dordogne, around Bergerac, is an important wine-making area.

Périgord Noir, in the southwest of the region, takes its name from the fact that the area is heavily populated with oak and pine trees.

Michael Foot (1913-2010) was a Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for the Plymouth and Ebbw Vale constituencies. He was deputy leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980, and Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983.

Another aspect of Michael Foot's life was his work as an author and journalist. He wrote biographies of Jonathan Swift and Aneurin Bevan, and at various points in his journalistic career worked for the New Statesman, the Tribune, the Evening Standard and the Daily Herald. From 1949 until her death in 1999, he was married to Jill Craigie, the film-maker and feminist historian.

Richard Stanley Francis (1920-2010), usually known as Dick Francis, was a British crime writer and steeplechase jockey.

He wrote more than 40 best-selling novels, all of which are set against a background of horseracing. His titles include Dead Cert (1962), Nerve (1964), Whip Hand (1979), Bolt (1986), Penalty (1997) and Under Orders (2006). He was also the author of a biography of Lester Piggott entitled A Jockey's Life (1986), which was later re-issued under the title Lester.